


Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder

by megwriteswow



Category: Sherlock (TV)
Genre: Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-06
Updated: 2016-09-06
Packaged: 2018-08-13 10:38:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,291
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7973794
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/megwriteswow/pseuds/megwriteswow
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>John and Sherlock decide to take a break from their struggling relationship and have to learn a lot of lessons before they reunite.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder

**Author's Note:**

> So in my mind this is a follow on from my first fic "Who Is John Watson" but you don't have to have read that first (although you're very welcome to!) If you have read it, this takes place 10 years later and there will probably be some references you can pick up on hahaha. Anyway, I hope you enjoy my second fic, comments are very welcome!

“Sherlock?”

John Watson entered 221B Baker Street carrying more books than he could really cope with, and his boyfriend Sherlock Holmes was nowhere to be found.

“Sherlock,” he said with more of a strained tone as he toppled into the living room. “A little help would be nice… Sherlock?”

John dropped the books on a square of space on Sherlock's desk and looked in the kitchen and down the hall. He half expected to find Sherlock curled up somewhere mysterious, like a cat, yet John found he wasn’t even home. A tired, hungry, and now annoyed John went back to the living room to start sorting through the books he’d brought home, that were for a case, when his phone buzzed.

_Won’t be home for dinner. SH_

_Where are you? And I keep telling you, you don’t have to sign off your messages, I bloody well know it’s you._

Unsurprisingly, he didn’t get a response, so he sat down in his armchair and stared at the first book, entitled ‘Voodoo for Dummies’. They had been working on a case that involved manipulation via voodoo dolls and John suspected that Sherlock was out dealing with it right now. He tended to do that; leave John at home to do all the research, then prove that John’s work was pointless as he solved the case regardless. John’s realisation of this resulted in him throwing the book back on the pile and getting up to make a cup of tea instead. Just as John took out the teabag, the distinct sound of footsteps bounding up the staircase disturbed his thoughts about what to order from the Chinese down the road.

“I thought you weren’t home for dinner,” he called through as the door to the living room opened.

“I’m not stopping,” Sherlock said with a note of urgency as he threw off his blood stained coat and ran to their bedroom to grab a different jacket. “I’ve got the culprit handcuffed to the drainpipe outside. Be back later.”

And with that, he disappeared back down the stairs without closing the door behind him. John sighed to himself and went to close the door, hearing Mrs Hudson shuffling about downstairs, and then went back to his tea feeling rather dejected. This would be his third night in a row being alone and going to bed without Sherlock by his side and he was starting to feel increasingly unhappy about it.

***

There was a frosty atmosphere at Baker Street the next morning as John was giving Sherlock the cold shoulder. The doctor was making toast as Sherlock lay on the sofa in his robe, deep in his mind palace. A minute passed where the only sound was the knife scraping John’s toast, until Sherlock broke the silence.

“John, can you put the kettle on? I need to read some tea leaves.”

“It wouldn’t kill you to say ‘please’ every once in a while.”

“Can you hurry up? It’s for a case-“

Sherlock was interrupted by the crust of John’s toast hitting him on the nose.

“What was that for?” Sherlock sat up and faced John’s stony face. “Ah, you’re in a mood with me aren’t you? Is it the tea leaves? Because I suppose I can just split a bag and-“

“No, it’s not the bloody tea leaves,” John said exasperatedly as he held up the buttery knife.

“If you’re going to stab me, I wouldn’t recommend the butter knife. It’s too-“

“Can you just shut up? Is it actually possible for you to do that?”

There was a moment of silence as Sherlock waited for John to explain and John tried to refrain from releasing all of his built up tension too harshly.

“Look, I’m just getting a bit sick and tired of it all. I barely see you anymore, and when I do we’re either involved in some ridiculous case or you just don’t pay any attention to me and-“

“I thought you liked solving cases with me. It’s what we do together…”

Sherlock looked at John so innocently he almost considered postponing having this serious conversation. But no, they needed to talk about their relationship and John knew this, so he took a breath and went and sat on the sofa next to Sherlock.

“You’re not understanding me, Sherlock, and that’s where the problem lies,” John said sadly as Sherlock searched his eyes for more clues about what was going on. “I love solving cases with you. But you don’t always involve me, and I know you can’t always help that and that’s not a reason for me to get angry, but it is when that seems to be the only time I see you. We barely have a relationship anymore, it’s just like we’re… flatmates or something.”

Sherlock scanned his mind for what John would want him to say but he had no idea.

“So, um, what do you want me to do?”

John sighed, “I’m not going to tell you how to fix this, you need to figure it out. And quickly because I’m almost at the end of my tether here.” He took Sherlock’s hand and said softly, “I love you, you know I do, but it’s becoming really hard for me. All I’m asking is that you try and be more considerate, okay?”

Sherlock nodded, “I’m sorry… I’ll fix it, I promise.”

John smiled and they shared a soft kiss before John left for work and Sherlock remained alone with this thoughts.

***

  
John returned from work later that day to find the living room in complete disarray and his immediate thought was that they’d been robbed. This thought quickly evaporated once he’d spotted Sherlock sitting on his laptop at his desk, appearing very calm and serene amongst the chaos.

“What the hell happened here?”

“I couldn’t find my lighter,” Sherlock replied without looking up from his laptop. “It turned up in between the sofa cushions.”

John slammed the door behind him and stood, blood boiling, in the middle of the room.

“And you didn’t think to tidy any of this up? It looks like a fucking bomb’s hit!”

“It didn’t seem like something urgent that needed to be done. I’ve been busy sorting through client’s profiles.”

“This is what I mean about being inconsiderate, Sherlock! You expect me to come home and clean this up and-“

“No I don’t. You can just leave it, I’ll do it eventually.”

John threw his arms in the air with frustration and collapsed in his armchair.

“Don’t even bother.”

“There’s no need to be overdramatic.”

“Overdramatic!? Are you being serious? You’re driving me crazy!”

“John, it’s fine, I’ll put everything away later.”

“But you won’t! You’ll leave it long enough so that I end up doing it and then say ‘oh, I’m sorry John I was just about to do it’ but you weren’t! I know all your tricks, Sherlock and I can’t do it anymore.”

Sherlock stood up and silently started collecting papers that were strewn across the room and piled them up on his desk while John sat with his head in his hands.

“I’m done, Sherlock,” John said from beneath his hands.

“Done with what?” He asked innocently as he carried on tidying.

“Us.”

Sherlock stopped dead and turned to John.

“Don’t be stupid-“

“I’m serious. I’m going to go and stay at Greg’s for a while.”

“Who’s Greg?”

“Lestrade.”

“Oh, him.”

John looked up at Sherlock with sadness and was praying that he would say something to make it all better, but he didn’t. He shook his head, got up and went to their room, shutting the door softly behind him. Sherlock wished he knew what to say or do, but his mind palace couldn’t save him this time. 

**Author's Note:**

> I have no idea when the next chapter will be up but pls stick with me hahaha


End file.
